Whitepaper. The Top 8 Factors for Evaluating the Cost of Regulatory Publications

Transcription

1 Whitepaper The Top 8 Factors for Evaluating the Cost of Regulatory Publications

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Quick Information Access... 4 Comprehensive and Searchable... 4 Alternate Names of an Aircraft... 5 Searching... 5 Broad Searching... 5 Targeted Searching... 6 Sourcing Costs... 6 Content Management... 6 Software... 7 Currency and Compliance... 8 Conclusion... 8 About ATP... 9 Addendum ROI Worksheet... 10

3 Introduction In the current business environment, time and information are arguably two of our most valuable resources. Yet many aviation professionals often don t factor them into regulatory publication decisions. To be perfectly clear, organizations that understand the cost impact of certain factors on their regulatory choices will be able to reduce operational costs, possibly even saving more money than the initial cost of the library. For this reason, it is essential that aviation maintenance professionals understand how the choice of a regulatory library impacts the bottom line. When evaluating a regulatory library, the following 8 factors should be considered for calculating the true cost. For further help, use the ROI Worksheet in the Addendum at the end of this paper. Top 8 Factors for Evaluating the Cost of Regulatory Publications 1 Quick Information Access 2 Comprehensive and Searchable 3 Alternate Names of Aircraft 4 Searching 5 Sourcing Costs 6 Content Management 7 Software 8 Currency and Compliance

4 With ATP your get all your information in one platform that can easily be taken where you need it, even out in the field where no internet connection is available. With ATP your can get the most comprehensive collection of regulatory and maintenance information available. Quick Information Access It has been said that, timing is everything. These days, placing greater emphasis on the time required to access publications is certainly appropriate. Aviation maintenance professionals need quick access to the right information, in the right place, at the right time. Researchers should not spend valuable time trying to access information for example, the time spent searching for the latest CD, locating and browsing a website, or walking to a library and using printed regulations. A cost effective solution provides a comprehensive set of regulatory information that is easily accessible from any location. Comprehensive and Searchable Today s aviation maintenance professionals must have comprehensive regulatory information. There can be over 60,000 regulatory publications in a complete regulatory library. At a minimum, maintenance professionals should check to be sure their regulatory solution includes: Airworthiness Directives Manufacturer Service Bulletins and Service Letters CARs and CAMs FARs and SFARs Type Certificate Datasheets Summary of Supplemental Type Certificates Advisory Circulars Maintenance Alerts Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs) FAA Orders Handbooks and Bulletins FAA Legal Interpretations and Petition Exemptions Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) ICAO Publications JARs EASA

5 Alternate Names of an Aircraft Aircraft model names and model numbers are often changed or reclassified. Aviation maintenance professionals need to find information without having to do multiple searches to compensate for these changes. With ATP, our comprehensive indexing goes further than the current Type Certificate holder to perform searches by prior manufacturer as well as by model name As an example: The Columbia 350 (or Lancair) is now the Cessna Corvalis 350 and the real model number is LC42-550FG. Or another example would be the Piper PA-14 which is now known as the FS 2002 Corp by the current TC holder. Every aircraft model needs to be accessible by any prior manufacturer/model designation. In order reduce the operational costs of regulatory information and improve efficiency, modern regulatory solutions must cross-index and cross reference historical and current aircraft names. Indexing these alternate names not only saves time, it increases accuracy and provides piece of mind. Researchers don t need to worry about open issues because the manufacturer/model is not listed. Searching An industry study has shown that maintenance professionals spend as much as 50% of their time searching for information 1. Thus, having a tool that reduces research time can provide a significant advantage to an operation. Searches should be: Above all else, simple! Complete and accurate from a single lookup. Able to be duplicated or reused. With ATP s search capabilities you can do a single, comprehensive search across both series and models of an airframe, engine, propeller, and appliances for ADs and referenced service information. There are two categories of searches: Broad Searching and Targeted Searching. Broad Searching At times, maintenance professionals may seek assistance finding where the information is located within a large number of documents. Broad searching allows researchers to find information without needing to know the exact publication in which it is located. When broad searching, the researcher can select the publications to search, whether a single document, a series of documents, or all volumes in a library. Searches can be further refined based on a variety of high level search parameters including aircraft type,

6 engines, propellers and avionics, keywords, dates and even Boolean expressions. An example would be searching across all Maintenance Alerts for a specific problem or search across all airframe, engine and appliance ADs issued after a specific date and contain text that matches the research subject. With ATP, powerful search tools can locate regulatory information by date, keyword, manufacturer, or model. With almost 40 years serving aviation professionals, ATP is the industry s single source solution. With the ATP Aviation Hub Cloud Application, your regulatory libraries are always up to date. Targeted Searching Targeted searching allows researchers to find all information for a specific manufacturer and model. A modern regulatory search solution understands the relationship between aircraft models and series and will include both in a single search. An example of a targeted search: A single AD search on a Cessna 172R will return the ADs specific to the 172R model as well as the 172 series ADs relevant to a 172R. Sourcing Costs Sourcing refers to the time and expense of requesting multiple publications or information from multiple vendors, agencies, or sources. Eliminating the need to manage multiple subscriptions, contracts, purchase orders, approvals and payments will result in time savings. Content Management This important factor includes two areas of consideration: Update latency - the time from when an update has been released until it has been incorporated into the library. Researchers should not look at a revision schedule as the number of updates per year. The truly important factor is the time between revisions. How long should a researcher wait? The optimal system is always up to date with the latest information. Update maintenance - The time and effort required to manage the update process or incorporate updates into the system. In the past, CD libraries were popular, but this required revision handling, installation, storage, auditing and archiving of old CDs. Next-generation regulatory information systems are always up to date, making maintenance, storage and archiving a thing of the past.

7 Software Anyone who has used a computer knows that not all software is the same. The best software solutions are designed to reduce the effort required by the user. Some software factors include: Easy to use regulatory solutions should be easy to understand and guide the user through the library and searches with minimal effort. This will save training time and increase efficiency when it is only necessary to use one solution to access all of the publications needed. Expand as needs grow It should be easy to quickly add new content as an operation grows. The following are questions to ask before purchasing a library: Can the library scale by adding other publications? Is it possible to include maintenance information? Is it possible to include international publications? Portability It should be possible to take libraries where they are needed even out in the field where no Internet connection is available. Next-generation solutions allow professionals to take content wherever it is needed. When near an Internet connection, they simply update the content with the click of a button. The ATP Aviation Hub Cloud Application brings your ATP digital content together all in one place. Developed by aviation professionals, the intuitive interface, productivity tools and intelligent search capabilities make the ATP Aviation Hub the most powerful software tool available. Productivity tools Next generation regulatory solutions provide time saving tools that tackle real business needs and reduce operational costs. These tools include equivalent model lookups, weight and balance worksheets and appliance AD check sheets. The system should include all necessary forms and checklists in a nonproprietary and standardized file format so that users are never locked out from historical forms. Editable compliance records Regulatory solutions should be able to generate fully editable compliance records. The records should allow users to add their own information and allow them to define how the information appears. In addition, the information should be printable in different formats and export the reports to a digital format including PDF, Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel.

8 With ATP you can generate fully editable and printable aircraft compliance records that can be automatically updated with each content revision. Currency and Compliance Next-generation regulatory information systems simplify currency and compliance reporting processes. These systems clearly show that the library and information is current and make it easy to demonstrate currency of FAA, EASA, ICAO and international content to any interested parties. Conclusion It is essential that aviation maintenance professionals understand how regulatory choices impact operational costs. In today s business environment, no aviation maintenance professional can afford to use options (even free options) that waste time or increase operational costs. ATP s Single Source Solution concept and the unique features of the ATP Aviation Hub Cloud Application are designed to provide the systems and tools necessary to reduce the operational cost of regulatory information. With the help of ATP Regulatory Libraries, regulatory research that used to take hours can be done in minutes. 1) Human Factors Survey of Aviation Maintenance Technical Manuals, Alex Chaparro, Ph.D and Loren S. Groff, M.A. National Institute of Aviation Research, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

9 About ATP For over 45 years, ATP has provided the global aviation community valued and effective aviation information solutions. The company s unique combination of skilled aviation and information professionals, innovative technology, and a deep understanding of aviation safety requirements positions ATP to uniquely offer solutions and systems supporting the information and conformance needs of the industry. ATP is universally known as the general aviation community s single-source solution for maintenance and regulatory library services. The company has a worldwide customer base including fixed base operators, repair stations, aircraft and component manufacturers, regulatory agencies, airlines, schools and corporate operators. With a long history of facilitating content distribution and access for aircraft manufacturers, ATP 2000 Sierra Point Pkwy, Suite 501 Brisbane, CA sales@atp.com US & Canada: Worldwide: (+1) Copyright , Aircraft Technical Publishers (ATP ).

10 Addendum ROI Worksheet Quick Information Access How much time do you spend going to various programs, books, CDs, or locations looking for information? Cost of accessing information Comprehensive and Searchable How much time do you spend finding all the information and sources you need? Alternate Names of Aircraft How much time do you spend researching all the variations of aircraft and model names? Searching How much time do you spend performing multiple keyword searches or verifying that you have the information you need? Sourcing costs How much time do you spend calling manufacturers or searching web sites for regulatory and maintenance information? Content Management How much time do you spend maintaining libraries or updating content? Software How much time do you spend with software related issues such as training, cross referencing publications from different solutions, finding the right forms and tools, or installing and maintaining software? Currency and Compliance How much time do you spend verifying currency and documenting compliance? Cost of not having a comprehensive solution Cost of researching model and aircraft names Cost of searching for the right information Cost of not using a single source solution Cost of managing content and updates Cost of software related issues Cost of maintaining compliance and currency